News-Herald says 6pm start Friday at home against Jackson. Then on 8/17 at home against Chardon, start time is listed as 5:00. Not sure if the JV is starting at 5 and then varsity to follow. That is my hunch (and hope), but not sure.

Update/Edit: Cleveland.com says a 7pm start time for both scrimmages. Who knows?? My hunch is the time listed by the News-Herald is when the JV part of the scrimmage starts and the varsity will start approximately at 7.

Outside of Elyria and Shaker, both probably better than their records will indicate but no real threat, this is a schedule that will have you guys prepared for when the eventual rematches happen in the playoffs, since you are pretty much facing 7 of the top dozen or so R1 teams (and easily, IMO, the top three not named Mentor in Ed's, Iggy and Euclid.

Last yearís Brunswick team looked like a JV squad. Even when Mentor brought their backups in, they scored pretty easily. If the many juniors werenít even good enough to start over the seniors on the team I saw, that doesnít bode well. Glenville, even in a down season by their standard, was still much better than Brunswick.

Mentor scrimmaged Jackson at home tonight. The first part of the scrimmage saw both teams getting ten offensive plays. Jackson was on offense first. Jackson advanced roughly 10-12 total yards on the ten plays. Mentor advanced about 80, which included a drive capped off by sophomore QB Ian Kipp running into the end zone.

During the more game-like conditions, the two teams played one real time quarter. Jackson had five possessions and didn’t get a first down. Mentor had four. The first was a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play by junior Brian Trobel. The second possession was a long drive that ended with junior back Varney Spansel running it in from around the 10. The third and fourth offensive possessions didn’t go that well. Kipp showed his inexperience. And why wouldn’t he, the kid is just a sophomore. Overall, Mentor looked like the much better team. Not a surprise. Good to see football again though, even in a scrimmage.

Mentor scrimmaged Jackson at home tonight. The first part of the scrimmage saw both teams getting ten offensive plays. Jackson was on offense first. Jackson advanced roughly 10-12 total yards on the ten plays. Mentor advanced about 80, which included a drive capped off by sophomore QB Ian Kipp running into the end zone.
During the more game-like conditions, the two teams played one real time quarter. Jackson had five possessions and didnít get a first down. Mentor had four. The first was a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play by junior Brian Trobel. The second possession was a long drive that ended with junior back Varney Spansel running it in from around the 10. The third and fourth offensive possessions didnít go that well. Kipp showed his inexperience. And why wouldnít he, the kid is just a sophomore. Overall, Mentor looked like the much better team. Not a surprise. Good to see football again though, even in a scrimmage.

How did he look throwing the ball? It sounds like the running game will be counted on early until he gets more reps into the season.

How did he look throwing the ball? It sounds like the running game will be counted on early until he gets more reps into the season.

As the News-Herald alluded, the offense didn't really open up yesterday. Kipp never threw down field. Lots of short passes. Some receivers were out of position due to an injury, which probably threw some things out of whack. Jackson was often dropping back seven guys into coverage, making the passing lanes shrink considerably. Because they didn't blitz linebackers, Kipp had all day to pass - but four receivers among seven defenders didn't leave for a lot of openings. When Kipp sees that kind of defense again, I hope in the regular season he will be more aggressive at just taking off and picking up first downs with his legs.

For a sophomore starting at the first scrimmage, Kipp did well. Lots of time and opportunity to grow this year and the following two seasons. The running game is ahead of the passing game right now, and that is fine. Takes a lot of pressure off Kipp.